Monday, May 18, 2009

Guest Blogger: Two Ellie

I was super excited when Jennifer asked me, Paula of Two Ellie, to guest blog today. She asked me to share a room in our home that we loved. My home is an open layout so I feel as if it works better as a whole, but since I had to choose I went with my dining room. It's where we have family dinners, do craft projects with the kiddos, and do the most entertaining. I feel as if my home is always a work in progress, but here it is as of today...

This buffet we bought from Pier 1 on super discount for about $100 dollars when we first moved into this home 2 years ago. We came from a home that was much smaller and we were in need of economical furniture choices. I loved the scale and lines of this piece, but originally it was a very light blonde wood which is not my fave. So we painted it Stratton Blue by Benjamin Moore. We then did an easy glaze type treatment over that. The hanging lanterns (grown up balloons as my daughter calls them) I put up for my mother's birthday dinner recently, but we all liked them so they remain.

The letterpress print is from SeeSaw Designs. I just love the colors and it added a bit of fun. The vase, rocks, and candle I got from Hobby Lobby for half off. I think the whole project cost me about $15 dollars.

The dining table is not my favorite, but it works for us. One day I hope to own a new one, but having a 2 and 3 year old makes this one quite practical. The benches which I recently recovered for under $20 dollars help us seat up to 10 people for a dinner. The wooden trough was my grandmother's and it now holds our many napkins.

The old window frames are from my old college apartment. They were replacing the windows and trashing these so I took a few. We then framed 6x6 photos and placed them behind the glass.

This is where I do bills, where my hubby edits photos for a shoot, and I blog. To see before photos and the changes that were made over the years go here.

Finally, I hope to replace the standard light fixture with something unique. I love the idea of converting an old basket or a wire basket covered with a fabric into a light. The two images above are my source of inspiration.